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Jacksonville early learning nonprofit receives website grant

The Early Learning Coalition of Duval has received a $135,000 grant to launch a new online community resource for parents and early learning advocates.

The grant from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida will be used over three years to develop a website "to serve as a resource for early learning, health, development and parent engagement information," according to a news release.

Also, the grant will fund a two-year public awareness campaign to educate parents, caregivers and the general public about the website.

"We are excited about this new opportunity," said Susan Main, President and CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Duval. "This grant fits perfectly with our goal of promoting family engagement and developing the whole child, and we are committed to making this a model for the state."

The coalition helps the early learning community with programs including Voluntary Pre-kindergarten, School Readiness Child Care Financial Assistance, the Child Care Resource & Referral network and Guiding Stars of Duval, a quality rating improvement system.

The grant was funded through The Community Foundation's Chartrand Family Fund and Jacksonville Children's Endowment.

The idea for an online resource stemmed from recommendations from the coalition's strategic plab and the Jacksonville Community Council Inc.'s Children 1-2-3 Study, which was also funded by the Community Foundation. There was a need to centralize information and access to resources for parents of children from birth to 5-years-old, according to the release.

"We are so pleased to be able to partner with The Chartrand Family Foundation to support the creation of what will be a vital resource for parents and caregivers," said Nina Waters, President of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. "When we work together, we can accomplish so much more than we can individually."

For more information about the coalition, go to elcofduval.org or call (904) 208-2044.